An informal guidance was sought from the Securities Exchange Board of India (‘SEBI’) by Waterfield Financial and Investment Advisors Private Limited (‘WFPL’), an investment adviser (‘IA’) registered under SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 2013 (‘IA Regulations’), on whether the clients of WFPL can, at their volition, grant a power of attorney (‘POA’) authorizing WFPL to make inquiries concerning the client’s account with the custodian and liaise with such custodian and receive information from or transmit information to such custodian, in relation to the client’s investment decisions or investment products. SEBI, in its response letter dated March 30, 2021, stated that an IA is required to render investment advice and not manage funds or securities on behalf of the client and, hence, considering the scope of activities permitted for an IA under IA Regulations, grant of POA has neither been envisaged nor appears desirable for an IA.